No. 23 seed Nick Kyrgios knocked off No. 1 seed Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round of the U.S. Open on Sunday night, but a move Kyrgios made mid-match was close to potentially costing him a victory.
Kyrgios volleyed a ball out of play in the middle of the match that came dangerously close to hitting a spectator in the stands. There’s precedent there, where if a fan was hit by a ball knocked into the stands voluntarily by Kyrgios, he could have been disqualified from the tournament.
Kyrgios is well-aware of this rule.
Tennis fans will remember Wimbledon earlier this summer, when Kyrgios was facing Stefanos Tsitsipas. Tsitsipas hit a ball into the stands, which narrowly missed a spectator. When it happened, Kyrgios argued that Tsitsipas should have been disqualified.
Novak Djokovic was disqualified from the U.S. Open in 2020 for slapping a ball out of play, which inadvertently struck a line judge in the throat.
Kyrgios avoided catastrophe on Sunday night, and as a result, has reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first time in his career.
